(CNNGo) -- Your choice of hotel probably shouldn't be based purely on the merits of its cocktail menu. But these places have so much more than a great selection of drinks.

Rock Bar, Ayana Resort & Spa in Bali

Guests ride a special cable car down a dramatic cliff face to get to this brilliantly engineered bar perched just 46 feet above the Indian Ocean.

Once there, the experience is dramatic.

Bartenders pour creative cocktails set to beats spun from a DJ booth carved into the stone.

The minimalist space, designed by Yasuhiro Koichi of Japan's Design Studio SPIN, is one of the best places to watch the sunset in Bali. (Ayana Resort and Spa, Jimbaran, Bali, tel: +62 361 702222, www.ayanaresort.com/rockbarbali.)

What to drink: A martini -- on the rocks, of course.

Redwood Room, Clift Hotel, San Francisco

The Clift's swank Redwood Room, founded in 1933 (the year Prohibition ended,) is a blend of old and new. Vintage deco lights shine on Starck-designed lounge furniture and plasma TVs displaying digital art hanging on original redwood walls.

The scene is loud, grown-up and slightly pretentious, just the way patrons like it. (495 Geary Street at Taylor St., San Francisco, California 94102, Tel: +1 (415) 775 4700, http://www.clifthotel.com/.)

What to drink: A classic martini, spruced with two blue cheese-stuffed olives.

Icebar, Icehotel, Copenhagen

A novelty, no doubt, but Icebar is still a marvelous place to, well, chill out.

Everything, and we mean everything, is made of ice, from the furniture to the cocktail glasses to the gleaming art.

Check out the raven in a cage, the full scale Harley Davidson and the boxes filled with miniature treasures -- all made of frozen H20.(Hotel Twentyseven, Løngangstræde 27, Copenhagen, Tel: +45 7027 5627, http://www.icebarcph.com/.)

Located in a courtyard setting behind the Moroccan-style Figueroa Hotel, the quiet spot is a great place to get away from the chaos. (939 S. Figueroa St., Los Angeles, California 90015, Tel: +1 (213) 627 8971, http://www.figueroahotel.com/.)

What to drink: The electric blue "Fire and Ice," served in a frosted martini glass.

Sky Bar, lebua at State Tower, Bangkok

For a night that feels out of this world, it only takes a trip to Sky Bar, the bar on the 63rd floor of The Dome at State Tower.

Dark and decadent, Bemelmans competes for the city's most dapper nightspot.

No detail has been left un-fancified: White-jacket waiters, nickel-trimmed glass tables, chocolate-brown leather banquettes and a 24-karat gold leaf-covered ceiling.

But the most interesting aspect of Bemelmans is the wall art by Ludwig Bemelmans, the creator of the Madeline books and the bar's namesake. (35 E. 76th St., at Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10021, Tel: +1 (212) 744 1600, http://www.thecarlyle.com/.)

What to drink: The Old Cuban, a mojito topped with champagne.

Grotto Bar, Hyatt Regency Maui Resort & Spa, Maui, Hawaii

OK, so a card key is required for this one (the bar is only open to hotel guests,) but we just had to include it in the list.

Inside a dim cave enclosed by dual waterfalls, this swim-up bar is an adult refuge in a resort oozing with pool-splashing tikes.

The Connaught Bar simply has it all: ultra-stylish decor, impeccable service and some of the most killer cocktails ever shaken (not stirred.)

With textured walls in platinum, leather chairs and white marble floors, the parlor, designed by David Collins, is a work of modern luxury.

Not to mention, the bartenders are award winning.

Senior mixologist Erik Lorincz reigns as the Diageo Reserve World Class Bartender of the Year 2010 and Agostino Perrone holds the title of International Bartender of the Year 2010. (Carlos Place, Mayfair, London, W1K 2AL, United Kingdom, Tel: +44 (0)20 7499 7070, http://www.the-connaught.co.uk/.)

What to drink: A Mulata Daisy, rum, lime juice and sugar, kicked up a notch with the tang of fennel seeds and sweet chocolate liqueur.

One of the classiest places in town for a cocktail, Alexander's Bar has a crazy selection of premium spirits and impeccable service.

The trademark fixture of the bar, and the hotel itself, is the rare 18th century tapestry of Alexander the Great's entrance into Gavgamila. (Constitution Square, Athens 10564, Greece, Tel: +30 210 333 0787, http://www.grandebretagne.gr/.)

What to drink: A glass of exotic Midori liqueur over ice.

Il Palazzetto Wine Bar, Palazzetto Hotel, Rome, Italy

Located over the Spanish Steps, this terrace bar is a great place to view Rome's dolce vita.